Your $7.00 monthly contribution will go a long way to helping us expand the coverage and services you enjoy.
GET THE LATEST PUBDEF NEWS 24/7:
ABOUT PUB DEF
PUB
DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
City of St. Louis, Missouri. Our goal is to cast a critical eye
on lawmakers, their policies, and those that have influence upon
them, and to educate our readers about legislation and the political
processes that affect our daily lives.
CONTACT US
Do you have
a press release, news tip or rumor to share?
Ending the speculation, State Rep. Sam Page of Creve Coeur will hold a press conference Monday, June 4, to announce as a Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
The announcement will be made at the Creve Coeur Government Center, 300 N. New Ballas Rd., at 3:00 p.m.
The man slated to become the new czar of the city's public schools is scheduled to meet with members of the Aldermanic Black Caucus tomorrow.
Rick Sullivan, the Chesterfield real estate developer selected by Gov. Matt Blunt to run the city schools after it is stripped of its accreditation in two weeks, has been making the rounds around town — and the country — talking to people about public education in urban areas.
With no formal experience in education of his own, Sullivan has met with school leaders here and in other cities, including Atlanta, and local elected officials, seeking input about the situation in SLPS.
PubDef has been told that members of the Black Caucus have many questions waiting for Sullivan concerning his take on the academic and financial situation of the district, as well as his stance on privatization and charter schools.
St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Diana Bourisaw has fired back at the State Board of Education that earlier this year voted to strip the district of accreditation on June 15.
In a 22-page document entitled "The Determination that the St. Louis Public Schools is Unaccredited is Unlawful, Arbitrary, and Capricious", Bourisaw argues that:
The district has met and continues to meet sufficient performance standards to be provisionally accredited.
The standards applied to SLPS by the State Board have not been applied and are not applied to other similarly situated school districts in Missouri.
The action taken by the State Board is unconstitutional.
The recent death of the Kansas City Star's "KC Buzz Blog" (in favor of a new paid subscription service) creates a new void on the west side. PubDef is seeking Kansas City area political watchers and videographers as we consider a westward expansion.
Email us if you are interested or know of someone we should contact. Thanks.
Late at night, while you are sleeping, St. Louis burns. Armed with a scanner, a couple of cameras, and nostrils full of smoke and ash, 20 year-old Ben Mazanec of south St. Louis spends his free time tracking down the flames.
KWMU reports that at its monthly meeting last night, the St. Louis School Board voted to award controversial radio host Lizz Brown a $25,000, no-bid contract.
From Adam Allington's report:
The board authorized a contract with a company called "Penetrating Urban Market Politics". The organization is controlled by Brown, a local activist and radio host who organized a five-day student sit-in at the mayor's office last March.
Brown is contracted to assist with a public service campaign about the negative impact of charter schools.
Board member Veronica O'Brien accused acting chairman Bill Purdy, who proposed the contract, of offering kick-backs.
Purdy, Peter Downs, Donna Jones, and David Jackson voted for the contract. O'Brien, Flint Fowler, and Katherine Wessling voted against.
Correction: Okay, not really. Despite Governor Blunt's assertions in his statement, the Supreme Court's ruling did not extend to teachers the right to strike, but rather just the right to collectively bargain.
FROM THE RULING: "Article I, section 29's guarantee that employees have 'the right to bargain collectively' is clear and means what it says. Agreements that the school district made with employee groups are to be afforded the same legal respect as contracts made between the district and individuals, although public employees – unlike their private-sector counterparts – are not permitted to strike.
As long as the duration and terms of such agreements comply with the limits provided by law for school districts to bind themselves, and are consistent with other statutes such as the teacher tenure act, the agreements are enforceable as any other contractual obligations undertaken by the district."
By a 5-2 vote yesterday, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned a 60-year ban on the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Throwing yet another monkey wrench in the state's half-baked idea of taking over St. Louis Public Schools, this ruling now means that teachers, as well as other public employees, once again have the right to strike, if need be, to bring their employers to the bargaining table.
"This is yet another example of judicial activism, where a court’s action oversteps the bounds of prudent Constitutional interpretation," said Gov. Matt Blunt in response to Tuesday's ruling.
"This reckless decision could force cities and school districts to raise taxes and subject Missourians to the threat of strikes by critical public sector employees."
"Public sector employees are different than all other employees, and taxpayers should not be bound by collective bargaining agreements," said Blunt.
Obviously, the Supreme Court disagreed.
The state Constitution clearly affords collective-bargaining rights to employees. Past courts have interpreted that guarantee as not extending to public employees.
According to the Kansas City Star, in Tuesday’s decision, written by Chief Justice Michael A. Wolff, the court found that the constitutional guarantee is "clear and means what it says."
When the St. Louis Board of Education meets this evening, it will consider a motionto name the group of Elementary Schools and Middle Schools that feed into the Sumner and Turner High Schools the "John F. Bass Educational Complex."
The late John F. Bass was a St. Louis alderman, a Missouri State Senator, and the first African American comptroller in the city's history. He passed away on February 25, 2007.
According to SLPS Spokesman Tony Sanders, the rededication, to be introduced by Board Vice President Bill Purdy, is intended as an honorarium to Senator Bass and his family in recognition of his service. Several members of Bass' family are expected to be in attendance at this evening's meeting.
The Board of Education meeting tonight is to be held in Carr Lane VPA Middle School and will open to the public at 7:00 PM.
Call it taking care of their own. Or perhaps, an investment in their own futures. Whatever you call it, state legislators buried a nest egg in the controversial MoHELA bill signed into law last week.
Stuck in the center of the 52-page Senate Bill 389, which, among other things, took $350 million from the state's college loan fund and put it towards new construction projects on campuses around the state, there is also a provision that makes it much easier for legislators to get a job after they are term-limited out of office.
SB 389 also states that "no public college or university... shall reject an applicant for a faculty position based solely on the applicant having not earned a graduate degree, provided that the applicant has earned an undergraduate baccalaureate degree and has served for at least eight years in the general assembly."
So a bachelor's degree and four terms in the State House now makes you as qualified to teach in a Missouri college as a Ph.D. or a master's degree in the particular field.
Term-limits is now the tune to which self-preservation and special interests dance to in the State Capitol.
With all the uproar about the billions more dollars allocated for the Iraq War yesterday, almost completely unnoticed is that in the same bill Congress also raised the federal minimum wage for the first time in almost a decade.
The hike will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over three years. Starting 60 days after it is signed into law, the first increase will be to $5.85. In year two, it goes to $6.55 an hour. And in year three, $7.25.
As they wait to see if Governor Matt Blunt decides to sign the huge check that is House Bill 327 — which gives millions of dollars to dozens of entities, including developer Paul McKee and his "Blairmont" companies — residents of the north St. Louis neighborhoods most affected by McKee's secret plan hold their breath and look to the sky for the other shoe to drop.
And locally, did Senator Claire McCaskill forget her mandate when she and other Democrats joined with Republicans to authorize more funds for the Iraq War?
McCASKILL & BOND VOTE TO FUND WAR, CLAY & CARNAHAN VOTE AGAINST
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 11:03 PM
The U.S. Congress tonight passed a $122 billion emergency supplemental appropriation to continue funding the war in Iraq at least through September. St. Louis Congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan voted against the measure, which passed the Democratic-controlled House by a vote of 280-142.
The following statement comes from Rep. Clay:
"I cannot, in good conscience, vote for a supplemental appropriation that provides $97.8 billion more for President Bush's failed policy in Iraq.
This bill imposes no real deadlines and lacks any credible thresholds of accountability for either the President or the Iraqi government.
It does nothing to move this tragic and unnecessary war towards a swift and responsible conclusion, which is what the American people expect us to do.
Very soon, Congress will revisit this critical situation. And I pray that we will finally have the courage to face the realities on the ground, let the Iraqis decide their own country's future, and bring our brave troops home."
In the Senate, Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Kit Bond were among the 80 votes in favor of the funding. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin also voted for it, while his colleague and Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, voted against.
Obama's leading competitor in the Senate, Hillary Clinton, also voted no.
How Missouri's Delegation Voted:
Lacy Clay (D-1st) - NO Todd Akin (R-2nd) - YES Russ Carnahan (D-3rd) - NO Ike Skelton (D-4th) - YES Emanuel Cleaver (D-5th) - NO Sam Graves (R-6th) - YES Roy Blunt (R-7th) - YES Jo Ann Emerson (R-8th) - Did not vote Kenny Hulshof (R-9th) - YES
Kit Bond (R) - YES Claire McCaskill (D) - YES
Click here for the Senate roll call vote. Click here for the House roll call vote.
Jason Rosenbaum reports that Trenton State Rep. Jim Whorton is joining the field of contenders for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.
As Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman, D-St. Louis, noted earlier this year, "everybody and their mamas" are thinking about running for the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor. Possible contenders include Rep. Sam Page, D-Creve Coeur, Sen. Frank Barnitz, D-Lake Spring and Sen. Harry Kennedy, D-St. Louis. Mike Evans, a candidate for Congress in 2004, is right now the only announced candidate on the Democratic side.
In the face of the looming takeover of St. Louis Public Schools by the State of Missouri, the school district announced yesterday that it will offer free summer school to any Missouri student that applies to its program.
According to the district, eleven thousand students have already registered for the summer school program, and that number is expected to grow.
"Students will benefit from smaller class sizes, effective curriculum materials, and more individualized instruction – all of which contribute to a strong academic program," says SLPS Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
Also according to the press release, the program has been structured to meet the goals of both "No Child Left Behind" and the district's own Comprehensive School Improvement Plan.
Transportation will be provided for resident students as usual, while non-resident parents must arrange transportation for their children.
State Senator Jeff Smith told the audience at Wednesday night's panel discussion on St. Louis Public Schools at the Carpenter Branch Library a story of his personal experience briefly working in the district years ago.
Smith, who introduced legislation this year to test teachers' subject knowledge, described seeing several teachers and administrators who seemed to be there just to punch a clock and collect a paycheck.
Superintendent Diane Bourisaw took exception with that characterization.
Washington University in St. Louis is planning to host a day-long public forum on Medicaid, called "Medicaid Financing: Challenges for Missouri and the Nation," on June 8th, 2007. Planned topics of discussion include healthcare accessability, cost, quality, and scope of coverage.
Among the speakers will be former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.
Thompson, a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has recently called for federal reform of the Medicaid system as part of his campaign. His talk is entitled "Medicaid in the United States."
Sponsors for the event include the Missouri Foundation for Health, Government and Public Policy in Arts & Sciences, the Center for Health Policy in the School of Medicine, the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Though the forum is open to the public, registration is required to attend. The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Clan or Klan? What Did a Former School Board Member Call His Critics?
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 11:34 PM
Former school board member Ron Jackson was already in hostile territory when he walked into tonight's panel discussion on St. Louis Public Schools, he could see that by the familiar faces of teachers' union members and parents who have been critical of his decisions during his four years on the board.
But he quickly made things worse for himself when he referred to those critics as either "the clan" or "the Klan".
Whether the word used by Jackson, who is black, began with a "c" or a "k", some people in the crowd were audibly offended.
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt was on the campus of the University of Missouri in St. Louis this morning to sign into law Senate Bill 389, which includes his controversial plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MoHELA), which makes loans for college tuition, to pay for new construction projects on campuses around the state.
In addition to the funding of construction projects, SB 389 also included several other provisions, including State Sen. Jeff Smith's "Teach for Missouri Act".
Modeled after the national Teach for America program, Smith's plan (renamed "Missouri Teaching Fellows Program Fund") would allow certain graduates of Missouri colleges who are hired to teach in unaccredited or partially accredited school districts can have some of their student loans forgiven for each of their first five years teaching.
In a recent editorial in the Springfield News-Leader, the paper's editors call for its industry's increasingly powerful competitors, political bloggers, to unmask themselves and give up their anonymity.
First, not all political bloggers hide their identities. Obviously, here at PubDef we use our real names and even regularly show ourselves in our video reports. Other notable blogs, including ArchCityChronicle.com, UrbanReviewSTL.com, and JohnCombestBlog.com, also join us in the Fantastic Four approach to blogging, tossing aside any secret identities to protect our loved ones.
But for those Spider-Men and Supermen of the world, who in order to protect their Mary Janes and Louises (or perhaps just their jobs), do choose to hide their identities, their words and perspectives are no less real, nor do their messages speak any less to their regular readers.
Just as ironic as both Spider-Man and Superman characters' day jobs being at large urban newspapers and them both feeling that to do any real good they needed to hide their identities and dress up in colorful suits — it is also with great irony that readers of the News-Leader's anti-anonymity editorial must do their own independent investigation to find out who actually wrote it.
People have their own reasons for writing anonymously. Arguably Missouri's greatest writer, Samuel Langhorne Clemens felt the need to wrap his words in the false name of "Mark Twain". Was it because "Twain" was a name that could sell more books? Or was it a name that readers and critics could better accept the truth from?
As someone who attaches his name to everything he writes and then often gets attacked for those words, I can definitely see the attraction in hiding one's identity. Without the protection of a large news organization, telling truth to power can be damaging to one's livelihood.
But however varied the individual reasons are for blogging anonymously, the reason that we blog in the first place is the same; because the mainstream media have failed and continues to fail everyday.
Missouri's political bloggers fill a void and no matter how the mainstream media may try to copy us, they will never be able to do exactly what it is we do.
Today's information consumers are the most savvy ever. They can judge for themselves the credibility of their news sources. And increasingly, more and more readers on the Web are relying on blogs for their news than on large newspapers that, sure enough, attach bylines to each and every boring, out-of-touch, and shallow news story they print.
Just because you sign your name to it, it doesn't make it suck any less.
The Missouri Republican Party today slammed Democratic Congressional candidate Kay Barnes for comment she made supporting extending citizenship to illegal immigrants.
"I favor the opportunity for people, if they have been here for a period of time, if they have demonstrated a work ethic and so on, to be able to stay and go through eventually a citizenship process," the St. Joseph News-Press quoted Barnes yesterday speaking to about three dozen people at the Buchanan County Democrat Women's Club.
Barnes, the former mayor of Kansas City, is challenging Republican Congressman Sam Graves for his seat next year.
"It is shocking that on the same day that a major immigration raid is conducted in Missouri, Kay Barnes would stand up and say that she supports rewarding illegal immigrants by granting them American citizenship,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party.
The St. Louis Public School District is seeking input from all the owners of the school system, including teachers, students, parents, business owners, and elected officials. Today, the District launched an online survey, which will be available through June 4.
"We want to know the areas where we need to focus in order to better serve our constituents," said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. "Our goal is to create the best choice in urban education." Click here to go to the online survey.
Once again, the best public high school in Missouri is a St. Louis Public School, according to Newsweek magazine.
Metro Academic and Classical High School was ranked #139 on Newsweek's list of 1,200 top schools in America. The next highest ranking schools from the Show-Me state is Ladue-Horton Watkins (#263) and Clayton High (#321).
Metro High has for years consistently ranked near the top of annual list and is the highest ranking Missouri public school. Last year it was ranked #40. In 2005, it ranked #48
Ironically, despite being one of the best high schools in the nation, Metro is scheduled to lose its state accreditation and be taken over by the state on June 15 along with the rest of St. Louis Public Schools.
The League of Women Voters, Metropolis St. Louis, and FOCUS St. Louis will be hosting a panel discussion and public forum tonight on the future of St. Louis Public Schools.
Speakers on the panel include: State Sen. Jeff Smith, a supporter of charter schools; school board member David Lee Jackson, an opponent of the state takeover; former school board member Ron Jackson, a supporter of the state takeover; and Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
The Community Concerns Forum will be at the Carpenter Branch Library, 3309 S. Grand, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. tonight. All are welcome.
Gov. Matt Blunt will sign into law this morning his controversial plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, which makes loans for college tuition, to pay for new construction projects on campuses around the state.
Blunt will sign the bill at a ceremony at 11:00 a.m. on the campus of UMSL.
Undeterred by record high gas prices, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is taking a road trip this weekend.
Following the national outrage over the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the Missouri Senator is taking a few days to visit some sick veterans and check on their state of health care.
McCaskill plans to take her RV on a four-day, 14-stop tour with stops in Fort Leonard Wood, Springfield, Joplin and Nevada on May 29; Kansas City, St. Joseph, Cameron and Kirksville on May 30; Hannibal, Mexico and Columbia on May 31; and St. Louis, Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau on June 1.
No word yet on where she'll stop for barbecue on this Memorial Day weekend.
Royston's Dad Passes, Johnson Says Residency No Longer an Issue in Race
By Antonio D. French
The father of 27th Ward Committeeman Curtis Royston III passed away over the weekend. After many months of attentive care to the needs of his dad, Royston's friends now hope the political attacks spawned by the State Rep candidate's family situation will now end.
According to State Rep. Connie Johnson (D-61), whose seat Royston plans to seek next year as she is term-limited out, said in an email to friends that the senior Royston was awaiting a kidney transplant, but his health never stabilized enough for him to receive a donor.
"During this process, which Curtis tried to keep as confidential as possible, his father was in and out of the hospital, a nursing home and also stayed at his wife's house in Jennings as her place was more handicapped accessible, etc. I gather his frequency at the Jennings house started to give intrepediations [sic] about his residency in the 27th ward," wrote Johnson.
"For informational purposes, I am writing to inform you that now that his father has passed, he and his wife will be under one roof at his house [in the 27th Ward]," she wrote.
Royston's residency had been the subject of a whisper campaign in the ward and in the comments section of blogs, including PubDef.
"I'm just tired of all of the rumors and character assassinations and I felt compelled to send the e-mail," said Johnson.
"People have to realize, that there's more to life than politics and but for the grace of God, all of us can have severe personal circumstances and tragedy in our lives."
A memorial service for Curtis Royston, Jr. will be held on Thursday at St. Louis Cremation, 2135 Chouteau. There will be a viewing from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. and a celebration of his life will begin at 3:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers the Royston family is asking that donations be made to US Bank care of Curtis Royston, Jr. The donations will go towards a college fund for his grandchild.
Senator John Loudon set off a firestorm last week when he used a, shall we say, "creative" tactic to get his legislation legalizing midwifery passed by the State Senate.
In the immediate aftermath, his colleagues from the other side of the aisle called him everything from a liar to other four-letter words not allowed on the senate floor. Even his fellow Republicans were angered when they figured out what had happened. The leadership quickly stripped him of his committee chairmanship "indefinitely" as a punishment.
But not everyone was upset with Loudon. In fact, overnight the West County legislator has become the champion of natural birth supporters all across Missouri and beyond.
The day after the story broke, flowers filled Loudon's office, sent from bandit midwives and mothers who believe in their merits.
On Monday, an interview the senator did with PubDef went from roughly a hundred views on YouTube to over 450 [Update: Make that almost 800 by Tuesday], with more than two dozen comments from midwife supporters from as far as Canada (although some of the comments were suspiciously posted by new YouTube users who registered on the same day).
The issue of midwifery, while completely foreign to most Missourians, seems to be one of those rare issues that fire up supporters like few others. Perhaps Sen. Loudon's chairmanship was a small price to pay for his new army of round-bellied moms and outlaw deliverers.
The St. Louis Public School District will hold two public hearings on the 2007-08 proposed budget. Both hearings are scheduled on Thursday, May 24 at Compton-Drew ILC, located at 5130 Oakland Avenue.
The hearings are scheduled at 11:00 a.m. and at 5:00 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. All citizens and employees are invited to attend.
It was Senator Joe Biden's fauxpaux right out the gate of his Presidential run that inspired three local black professionals to start a new website called CleanAndArticulate.com.
Just days after announcing he was running for President, Biden said about one of his Democratic opponents, Senator BarackObama, "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy ... I mean, that's storybook, man."
Like many other Americans, St. Louis attorney (and early State Rep candidate) Don Calloway took issue with Biden's backhanded compliment.
"Implicit in Sen. Biden's comments about Sen. Obama is that cleanliness and articulation are in short supply among African Americans," Calloway wrote. He said he believes that being "clean and articulate" (C&A) is the norm among black people.
According to Calloway and his partners at CleanAndArticulate.com, Miller W. Boyd III and fellow attorneyRobert Kenney, the site seeks to provide readers with news, commentary, and daily insight relevant to the African-American experience.
Light on original writing and heavy on links to news sites, by Calloway's own admission, "Clean and Articulate" is still in its infancy. But with so much news about the black community going on, and so few of the good news stories being reported, C&A should have no shortage of material to comment on.
This session of the Missouri Legislature wrapped up today at 6:00 in much the same way as it was conducted, with hard ball tactics by the majority and cries of foul from the minority.
After only being used a handful of times in the entire history of the Missouri Senate, the infamous "previous question" (or "PQ") motion was used twice in the last 24 hours to bring an end to debate and force a vote on two controversial bills — anti-abortion legislation and a largely irrelevant bill to make English the state's official language in all proceedings (was this ever a problem before?).
But even with the Republicans' control of both houses — not to mention the Governor's mansion — the legislature was still unable to wrap up all of its loose ends and a special session is expected to be called over the summer. UPDATE: Things got a little testy in the final hours. From Jason Rosenbaum of the Columbia Tribune:
The sour relations between Senate members of both parties were evident in remarks by Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman of St. Louis, who called the GOP leadership "punks … because I couldn’t use my other word that starts with a ‘P.’ "
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White announced today that he will retire effective July 6, ending a week of speculation and rumors.
"I congratulate Judge Ronnie White for many years of service," said Gov. Matt Blunt in a statement. "I have certainly appreciated my opportunities to visit with him over the past few years. Melanie and I wish Judge White the very best in his retirement."
"I am committed to appointing a Missouri Supreme Court judge who will faithfully interpret our constitution and will not legislate from the bench," said Blunt.
The Missouri Senate has passed a controversial bill that greatly changes the requirements for sexual education instruction in public schools, bans organizations that provide abortion services from distributing information in school, and establishes a program called the Missouri Alternatives to Abortion Services Program
In addition, the bill controversially changes the definition of "ambulatory surgical center" in a manner that would require nearly all abortion clinics to operate surgery centers.
Senate Democrats largely opposed the bill, claiming that it would deny women not only information, but potentially access to legal abortions. Democrats continued to criticize the bill on the floor even after its passage.
Meanwhile, Gov. Matt Blunt issued a statement in support of the bill's passage.
"Missouri has again sent a strong message that we value the dignity of all human life and will continue to pass laws that will reduce the number of abortions in our state," said Blunt.
"I applaud the General Assembly for supporting my call to make the Alternatives to Abortion program permanent."
The governor specifically called out the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, saying it "should not be supplying our students with information about sexual health. This vital legislation ensures that our children get the information they need from their teachers, parents and physicians."
JEFFERSON CITY — The freshman senator who once proclaimed on campaign literature that if the Republican leadership was for something, he was probably against it, has now found more support on the other side of the aisle than his own.
State Senator Jeff Smith spent much of the night lobbying members of the State House to support his education legislation, which, among other things, implements mandatory testing for public school teachers and creates a system of voluntary merit pay to reward successful teachers who opt out of traditional tenure.
The measure passed the House as an amendment to a larger education bill with strong support from House Republicans who cut off Democrats wishing to debate the amendment.
Several St. Louis Democrats told PubDef.net that they felt betrayed by Smith, who often bills himself as a "progressive" Democrat. But Smith has found the progress of many of his proposals opposed by members of his own St. Louis delegation.
However, Smith did receive some support for his bill from some fellow St. Louisans, including State Representatives Ted Hoskins, Rodney Hubbard, Talibdin El-Amin, Tom Villa, and Fred Kratky. But it was only with strong Republican support that the amendment passed the House.
Most St. Louis area Democrats voted against the amendment, including State Reps. Jamilah Nasheed, Rachel Storch, Jeanette Mott Oxford, Mike Daus, Robin Wright Jones, and Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who was the only Democrat allowed to speak against the bill before debate was cut off. UPDATE: Though it passed the House, Smith's measure never made it to the Senate floor.
JEFFERSON CITY – Still receiving criticisms and praises alike, State Sen. John Loudon spoke with PubDef today about his passion for the controversial issue of midwifery and the fallout from his stealth legalization of the practice in Missouri.
From the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:
At the request of Superintendent Diana Bourisaw, DESE has canceled an appeal hearing that had been scheduled for next Tuesday, May 22, regarding the accreditation status of the St. Louis Public Schools.
St. Louis school district officials intend to submit their appeal of the State Board of Education’s recent decision to de-accredit the St. Louis Public Schools in writing. In a letter sent to Dr. Bourisaw today, Commissioner of Education D. Kent King said he would allow the school district until May 28 to submit its written appeal.
The State Board of Education voted on March 22 to classify the St. Louis Public Schools as "unaccredited," effective June 15. Under state policy, the school district may appeal that decision to the commissioner of education, who will decide whether to ask the State Board of Education to reconsider its original decision.
UPDATED: The following statement is from St. Louis Public Schools:
State education officials have agreed to postpone their hearing regarding the accreditation status of the St. Louis Public School District (SLPS) at the request of Diana Bourisaw, superintendent of SLPS. The hearing had been scheduled for May 22. "The postponement will provide us the opportunity to meet with DESE staff regarding the data and formulas they used to make the determination on our accreditation status," Bourisaw said. In lieu of a public forum, the Commissioner of Education, D. Kent King, has also agreed to allow SLPS to submit evidence and testimony in writing. The Board of Education will file its appeal material on or before May 28.
JEFFERSON CITY – Mayor Francis Slay and his aides are still fighting to get the power to open more charter schools in St. Louis.
While a bill that would give the mayor to power to sponsor new charters has not moved since it was introduced earlier this year, the same language has found itself into at least two bills during these final days of the legislation.
But the out-of-town sponsors of those bills were quickly informed by St. Louis Senator and Minority Floor Leader Maida Coleman that that language would mean a fight on the senate floor — one that would likely mean death to their bills during these final hours.
While Coleman fights against the measure in the senate chamber, Slay's Education Liaison Robyn Wahby is lobbying for the measure in the halls. And to add to the fray, Byron Clemens and Ray Cummings of the St. Louis teachers union today joined the fight to kill the language.
With only hours left before the end of session, will the Mayor's hopes be thwarted, or will the charter bandwagon keep rolling?
JEFFERSON CITY – The State Board of Education voted today to sponsor a new charter school in St. Louis. This is the first time the Board has elected to sponsor a charter school itself.
The new CAN! Academy of St. Louis will be operated by the same firm that runs 15 CAN! charter schools in Texas. Its stated mission is to "provide a second chance for at-risk youth and their families to achieve economic independence and hope for a better life through relationship-based education and training."
No word yet on the location of the St. Louis school or when it is scheduled to open. UPDATE: Superintendent Bourisaw today issued the following statement regarding today's decision:
"I am very disappointed in the decision of the State Board of Education to sponsor a charter school in St. Louis. As I’ve shared with the State Board, we have several initiatives aimed at dropouts and at-risk youth that we are launching, or expanding, next school year. For example, three new Big Picture alternative schools, an expansion of our contract with a well-known dropout recovery program, and expansion of our contract with a proven credit retrieval program for dropouts. "We have already recognized the need for programs aimed at reducing the dropout rate in the St. Louis Public Schools, and we have responded."
One of the earliest supporters of Public Defender, the newspaper and precursor to PubDef.net, was Marti Frumhoff. Her excitement, enthusiasm, and support in those early days helped keep that short-lived and underfunded venture going for as long as it did.
But those who knew Marti know that her support for such underdog efforts was a staple of her personality and her effort to help rebuild this city which she loved. She will be missed.
Education and school quality are two of the most talked about issues in St. Louis these days, especially in the wake of the Show-Me Institute's somewhat controversial poll, released May 7, concerning school vouchers in Missouri.
In related news, six St. Louis High Schools announced today that they will seek independent accreditation with the North Central Association – Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA). The applying schools are Beaumont, Carnahan, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, Gateway I.T., Northwest Transportation and Law Academy, and Vashon.
“NCA accreditation is recognized across state lines, which not only eases the transfer process as students move from accredited school to accredited school, but also assures parents that the school is meeting regionally and nationally accepted standards for quality and successful professional practice... This is the accreditation standard that most colleges and universities rely upon when admitting students," said SLPS Superintendant Diana Bourisaw, in a statement released to the press.
Six other St. Louis High Schools are already accredited with the NCA: Central VPA, Cleveland @ Pruitt NJROTC, Metro, Roosevelt, Soldan, and Sumner.
St. Louis University Administrators have reached a compromise agreement with student staff and editors of the University News concerning the newspaper's charter.
Earlier this month, PubDef reported on efforts by the SLU administration to replace the paper's existing charter with a new version.
Students objected to the first proposed revision of the charter because it would have given university officials the power to appoint the paper's editor. Students argued that this power of appointment would prevent the paper from maintaining an independent editorial position.
In the compromise agreement, the student staff of the paper retain the ability to elect the paper's editor. However, this candidate will now be subject to ratification by the school's Office of Student Development, giving the administration a degree of oversight.
The St. Louis Schools Watch newsletter reports that St. Louis Public Schools Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Support, Mulugheta Teferi, has resigned.
According to the Watch, Teferi has been hired by DESE for a role in the Wellston School District, which continues to be operated by the state.
In other news... The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week to rename the University City Post Office after former Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Harriett Woods, who passed away earlier this year.
H.R. 1617, introduced by St. Louis Congressman Russ Carnahan, would name the post office located at 561 Kingsland Avenue "The Harriett F. Woods Post Office Building." According to a release from Carnahan's office, the location was chosen due to the fact that Woods began her political career in University City and it was the post office that served Woods for nearly 50 years.
As a further testament to Woods' legacy, said Carnahan, H.R. 1617 was cosponsored by 74 Representatives, including nearly every female Member of Congress from both sides of the aisle and the Missouri delegation.
The latest bill in Missouri's war on drugs would make distributing controlled substances in a park a specifically defined offense, punishable by up to life in prison.
Senate Bill 107, sponsored by Senator Yvonne Wilson, would create a specific crime entitled "distribution of a controlled substance near a park." Such unlawful distribution or delivery either on, in, or within 2,000 feet of a public or private park would become punishable as a class A felony.
According to the Missouri Attorney General's Office website, a class A felony is punishable by a sentence of 10-30 years or life in prison. For comparison, other class A felonies are crimes such as second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Critics of the bill find the level of punishment startling for such a broadly defined crime. In addition, they say the bill does not directly combat drug dealing, but merely pushes it out of parks and into other locations.
The right to defend your home with lethal force is an established part of Missouri law. This term, however, some lawmakers are seeking to extend the authorization of defensive lethal force to cover Missouri's drivers as well.
There are two similar bills in the legislature right now that address this issue, Senate Bill 62 (sponsored by Sen. Jack Goodman)and House Bill 189 (sponsored by State Rep. Kenny Jones). Both bills authorize the use of deadly force against intruders into a home, residence, or motor vehicle.
The bills also provide exemptions to the "intruder" definition for persons removing their children, persons that have a right to be on the property, and law enforcement personnel.
Most lawmakers PubDef spoke to seemed fairly comfortable with the bills. "It's basically a minor extension of the existing law," said Sen. Jeff Smith.
The bills' sponsors could not be reached for comment, as they were in session.
Sources in the Missouri State Senate have told PubDef that the President Pro Tem of the Senate, Michael Gibbons, has relieved Senator John Loudon of his position as Chair of the Senate Small Business, Insurance, and Industrial Relations Committee following his deceitful actions on the Senate floor last Thursday.
See PubDef's story on Loudon earlier today for background information.
Heard "Loudon Clear": Senator Lies! [Updated with Audio]
By Dan Martin
A slick move by a Republican senator to pass his controversial legislation while even members of his own party weren't paying attention has left many of his colleagues red-faced and further harmed the integrity of the body.
Last Thursday, the Missouri Senate and House voted on House Bill 818, a fairly ordinary document dealing with Health Insurance and Tax Credits. The bill had come back from committee recently, and the bill's handler in the Senate, West County Senator John Loudon, assured his fellow senators that the bill had only minor technical changes from its previous versions. The bill was quickly approved.
What his colleagues soon discovered, however, was that there had been changes to the bill that were neither minor nor technical.
Loudon, who in his failed bid for State Auditor last year billed himself as the honest "Taxpayers' Watchdog", had secretly slipped language from his own failed legislation, Senate Bill 303, into the document and lied to his colleagues about it.
Senate Bill 303 would have made major changes to laws regarding the practice of midwifery in Missouri, and was called by one senator "one of the most controversial bills of the session."
Between a section specifying dislaimers for informational documents on health insurance and a section renaming earlier sections of earlier legislation, Loudon slipped in the following language:
"Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who holds current ministerial or tocological certification by an organization accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance may provide services as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396 r-6(b) (4) (E) (ii) (I)."
What is tocological certification? Well, "tocology" is the medical term for the practice of midwifery.
Senate and House colleagues have expressed degrees of disapproval with Loudon's deceit. "I'm really disappointed in the way this happened," said State Sen. Jeff Smith.
"This body operates on trust... there's clearly no way we can read over 2,000 bills word for word, and so when a Senator announces that his bill only has some minor technical changes, we all trust that," said Smith.
State Rep. Rachel Storch told PubDef that she voted against the measure in the House precisely because of the speed with which it was being pushed.
"They had added so many provisions and [State Rep.] Doug Ervin, who was handling the bill on the House floor, was not giving us time to discern the new language," said Storch.
Smith also indicated that Loudon's actions may very well impact the Senator's ability to pass future legislation, as many of his colleagues have been expressing a reluctance to work with Senator Loudon in the future.
"All we have is our word," said Smith.
UPDATE: Now really hear it "Loudon Clear". Click here to listen to the actual floor debate (link via nikkisimmons.com).
This week, PubDef.net turns its eye towards the State Legislature. In the final days of the 2007 session, all the rhetoric and flowery phrases begin to fall to the ground and the true character of Missouri's 94th General Assembly reveals itself — and we'll be there to snap the picture!
Stay with us this week as we bring you stories, interviews, photos, and videos of what our state senators and state reps are doing, and what the consequences will be.
St. Louis Congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan served as hosts to U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama yesterday as he made stops at the Moolah Theatre and the Renaissance Grand Hotel to rally his Democratic supporters and raise some needed cash — two things that the "rock star" from Illinois is very good at.
There are a lot of people running for the nomination, Clay told the crowd filling the Moolah space usually occupied by leather couches. Some of those other candidates are his friends, Clay said.
"But running for President isn't about friendship," said the Congressman. "It's about winning. And in Barack Obama, we have a winner!"
The St. Louis Teachers and Related Personnel Union Local 420 held a rally last night to express their opposition to the state takeover of St. Louis Public Schools.
Union allies — including many parents, students, members of other unions, and religious leaders — were present to show their support.
Supporters of U.S. Senator Barack Obama's bid for the Democratic nomination for President will have several opportunities today to demonstrate their level of support for the charismatic Illinoisan who polls show may be the Democrats' best chance at regaining the White House.
In the latest Rasmussen poll, Obama is within a single point of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is at the moment the leading Republican candidate. Giuliani nominally leads Obama 45% to 44% when voters consider a general election match-up. In mid-April, Giuliani led by three points. The two had also been neck-and-neck in March.
Obama now holds a four-point lead over Republican Senator John McCain 46% to 42%. In April, Obama's lead over McCain was six points; prior to that, they were tied 44% to 44% for a couple months in a row.
The Obama campaign will hold two main events today in St. Louis. The first is a rally at the Moolah Theatre, 3821 Lindell Blvd. Tickets to that event are just $25. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
The second event is at the Renaissance Grand Hotel, 800 Washington Ave., at 7:00 p.m. Tickets to this event range from $500 to $2,300.
Obama's chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, was in town last week. Another candidate, former Sen. John Edwards, will be in St. Louis later this month.
EXTRA: The St. Louis American's Chris King interviewed Sen. Obama by phone yesterday. Click here to read the transcript.
Governor Matt Blunt's brother, Andy Blunt, has been busy in Jefferson City this week. Blunt is a lobbyist for ticketing giant Ticketmaster, and apparently quite a successful one.
Blunt has been seeking a bill that would make ticket scalping legal statewide. With the current legislative session drawing to a close, his desired scalping bill was attached as a rider to an economic development measure, along with 28 other such bills whose sponsors had the same idea.
Efforts to clean up the legislation and remove a few of the staggering 29 amendments attached to it were abandoned when House and Senate negotiators were unable to come to an agreement on various tax credits that were part of the main bill. As a result, all 29 remained attached to the legislation as it passed and was sent to Gov. Blunt's desk.
Petitioners from the Gateway Green Alliance have acquired enough signatures to require an audit of the City of St. Louis.
Missouri law requires a number of signatures on such a petition equal 5% of the number of people that voted in the last gubernatorial election - in this case, 7,200 people would suffice. The Greens, however, have collected over 7,500 signatures, and will continue to collect signatures should the petition be challenged, as challenged petitions require more signatures.
The petitioning effort began back in 2006 when the city was unresponsive in answering the group's questions concerning how money for lead poisoning prevention was being spent. The response came only after months of letter writing, and even then the city only supplied data for 28-35% of lead remediation money. For Greens, that is unacceptable.
The Green Alliance is joined in its efforts by the American Federation of Teachers Local 420, the Universal African Peoples Organization, and the Organization for Black Struggle.
Nearly two years after the allegations were first made, the Circuit Attorney's office filed charges today against the people alleged to have forged the signatures of 22nd Ward residents — some of them dead ones — in the failed attempt to recall Alderman Jeffery Boyd.
Petitioners Linda Rogers, Sebekhu Smith and Charles Keller now face felony election violations.
It was back in December 2005 that PubDef first reported that Boyd's rivals, former Aldermen Kenny Jones and Jay Ozier, had failed in their attempt to remove Boyd from office. Their recall petition fell short of the required number of signatures after Election Board officials said they discovered that many of the signatures were "blatant" forgeries.
"It was evident by the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissioners that those persons being charged today had in fact willfully misled us in their recall petition drive," said Director of Elections Scott Leiendecker in a statement today.
Boyd, who was recently overwhelmingly re-elected, said that today's charges are a long-awaited first step. "I think we're close to justice and I think the people can feel a little more at ease that this did not go unnoticed," he said.
But Boyd wonders if other indictments will follow.
"It's always the little people that take the fall, but where did it all start?"
The Commissioner of Education, D. Kent King, has granted the St. Louis Board of Education a hearing regarding the accreditation status of the school district. The hearing is currently scheduled for May 22 in Jefferson City.
"I am pleased the Commissioner is giving this opportunity to present the data we previously submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education which shows our district deserves to remain provisionally accredited," said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
In the wake of the collapse of the Taum Sauk Dam in December 2005, and in the midst of spring flooding throughout the state of Missouri, the State Senate approved a bill yesterday that would toughen operating and inspection procedures for dams throughout the state.
Sponsored by Senator Kevin Engler (R-3), the bill passed through the senate with only a few opposing votes.Despite the overwhelming support received in the Senate, however, Engler did not seem optimistic about the bill's chances in the House.
"It will either be attacked and lessened or it will die," said Engler. He cited representatives with strong farming constituencies as the most prominent opponents of his bill, commenting that farmers worry about the bill impacting their own small irrigation dams.
Engler also indicated that he feels a lack of significant pressure on legislators to pass the bill, despite the events at Taum Sauk in late 2005. "As long as people don't call them on it, it's gonna be a tough paddle," he said.
When Dr. Cole Woodcox of The Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation announces the group's annual list of "Most Endangered Historic Places" next week, he will do so in front of a building which is surely on the list — the Mullanphy Emigrant Home in Old North St. Louis.
Last week, PubDef Intern Reporter Dan Martin visited this endangered piece of St. Louis history and spoke with a representative from the group fighting to save it, as well as a woman who thinks they may just be wasting their time.
On Wednesday, May 16, supporters of the project to save Mullanphy will hold a benefit concert at Christ Church Cathedral at 7:00 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 each or buy them at the door for $25. Go to www.savemullanphy.org for more info.
EXTRA:Click here to watch Dan Martin's full interview with Sean Thomas of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group.
Governor Matt Blunt's nominees for various State department directors were passed out of the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments committee this morning, and will now go to the floor of the State Senate for debate.
Among these candidates is Katie Smith, Blunt's controversial nominee for Director of Agriculture. Democrats have recently criticized Smith's credentials, noting that she is not only young (she is 29 years-old), but also that she has worked primarily as an aide to lawmakers in Washington, not within Missouri itself.
State Senator Maida Coleman told PubDef this afternoon that Senate Democrats plan "debate as to [Smith's] qualifications" for the Senate floor. Coleman explained that Senate Democrats feel that "there are very high expectations for the next director based on the shameful behavior of the former director," and thus are approaching the nomination with caution.
Sen. Coleman did, however, express her hope that should Smith be confirmed in the position, she perform well. "As a veteran of the Senate and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I will do my best to assist her in her job," said Coleman.
Yesterday, Missouri House members in support of Affirmative Action held a press conference in Jefferson City to express their opposition of an anti-Affirmative Action ballot initiative being pushed by a group calling itself, rather ironically, the Missouri Civil Rights Initiative.
State Rep. Talibdin El-Amin (D-St. Louis City), one of the organizers of the event, told PubDef that this issue is not just about reserving jobs and spots in higher education for African-Americans. He contends that the entire country benefits from diversity.
"We wanted to convey that this is not solely an African-American issue," said El-Amin. "We're trying not to be reactionary... trying to make sure people are being educated as to the deceptive language that is being used."
El-Amin went on to say that he expects any bill attacking Affirmative Action to receive strong Democratic opposition, and that he has spoken to some Republican lawmakers that he has worked with in the past that will also "be inclined to support" Affirmative Action.
While opponents contend that Affirmative Action programs have outlasted their usefulness, El-Amin couldn't disagree more.
"You can look at the numbers, and there is a disparity. It is obvious that you need some type of remedy," he said. And he will continue to feel that way, "until they can show me some numbers" to the contrary.
An aide to Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.) urged the White House to replace the U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., months before Todd P. Graves's name was included on a Justice Department list of federal prosecutors the Bush administration was thinking of pushing out of their jobs.
A spokeswoman for Bond said yesterday that the senator's former counsel, Jack Bartling, contacted the White House counsel's office in the spring of 2005, without Bond's permission. According to the spokeswoman, Bartling said that Graves's replacement "would be favored," because the prosecutor's wife and brother-in-law had stirred ethics complaints in Missouri.
Last night, Graves issued a statement that said: "This would be humorous if we were not talking about the United States Department of Justice. First, you tell me that DOJ staffers were making secret hit lists and my name was on one of them. Then, you tell me that a staffer for Missouri's senior senator had a hit list so secret that not even the senator knew about it."
Regional leaders, current and former elected officials, and a wide assortment of other early birds attended an 8:30 A.M. breakfast this morning and the St. Louis Zoo in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the innovative River Ring plan.
Developed by the Great Rivers Greenway District, the region-wide system of 600 miles of greenways, parks and trails covers an expanse of more than 1,200 square miles.
KMOX host Charlie Brennan emceed this morning's event and introduced Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, who each spoke briefly.
The morning's featured speaker, respected Senator John Danforth, praised The River Ring plan as a model for other cities to follow. He said getting this project done was a break from the all too familiar obstructionism that St. Louis is known for.
"The positive approach — making things happen isn't easy," said Danforth. "Blocking things is easy."
The former Republican senator and U.N. Ambassodor singled out St. Louis City's mayor for his role in rebuilding the region. He praised Slay as "one of the city's greatest mayors."
"Let's not be satisfied with the status quo," said Danforth. "Let's not be satisfied with a riverfront that looks like something the cat dragged in."
State Senators John Loudon, a Republican from West County, and Rita Days, a Democrat from North County, recently appeared on the public affairs show "Jeff City Journal" with host Missy Shelton. One of the topics discussed was the situation with St. Louis Public Schools.
After long months of debate, the Missouri House passed Governor Matt Blunt's controversial MoHELA plan yesterday. The vote was 91-64, with voting mostly along party lines.
Under the passed plan, $350 million of the assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority will be sold off to third parties, such as Sally Mae. The money from the sale will then be used to pay for facility upgrades and construction projects at public Missouri colleges.
Democrats have opposed the plan, claiming that it will reduce the availability of low-cost student loans. "We still have not gotten adequate documentation that this won't harm Missouri students," State Rep. Rachel Storch (D-St. Louis) told PubDef.
Storch also noted that the $350 million in public assets will be sold to private loan firms, many of which (including Sally Mae) are currently being investigated. "Why should we sell our successful loan program to third party firms that are under Congressional investigation?" Storch asked.
State Rep. Clint Zweifel (D-Florissant) is currently leading an effort to oppose the bill by gathering the 87,000 signatures needed to put the plan on the 2008 ballot in order for the public to decide.
Under the Missouri Constitution, individuals with the requisite number of signatures may file referendum petitions that place bills passed by the General Assembly on the statewide ballot. Zwiefel and his allies have until August 28 to acquire enough signatures.
A new blog on the scene, the Missouri Political News Service, is reporting a rumor from what it says are "credible sources" that Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White will announce his retirement in the coming weeks.
"Our tipster also tells us that Judge White will join the Halloran Law Firm in St. Louis," says the blog. According to the MPNS source, White's retirement will be effective July 1st.
Fired Up! Missouri brought to our attention today a story run by the Post-Dispatch. According to the story, "A poll released today by a Clayton research institute shows two-thirds of Missouri residents favor the controversial school choice legislation defeated earlier this year by the state House of Representatives."
The story goes on to explain that the survey "found that 67 percent of Missourians support the tax credit proposal."
The problem Fired Up! Missouri brought to our attention is that the Post-Dispatch story downplays the fact that the survey was conducted on behalf of the Show-Me Institute by Market Research Insight.
The Show-Me Institute itself is an advocacy organization that supported the defeated legislation, and Market Research Insight is a paid consultant of Governor Matt Blunt, for whom school vouchers are key re-election issue. The organizations are mentioned in the story, but there is little recognition of the fact that the survey results come from these possibly biased organizations.
Instead, these results are presented as objective, with several paragraphs intervening between the mention of the polling firm and the explanation of that firm's biases. Even then, only a single sentence is given over to mention of this potential bias.
Questions and/or accusations regarding motive aside, this is, at best, shoddy reporting.
This video from Current TV shows how Detroit continues to face many of the problems of drastic population loss that we in St. Louis have hopefully turned the corner on.
Fired Up! Missouri brought to our attention today a story run by the Post-Dispatch. According to the story, "A poll released today by a Clayton research institute shows two-thirds of Missouri residents favor the controversial school choice legislation defeated earlier this year by the state House of Representatives."
The story goes on to explain that the survey "found that 67 percent of Missourians support the tax credit proposal."
The problem Fired Up! Missouri brought to our attention is that the Post-Dispatch story downplays the fact that the survey was conducted on behalf of the Show-Me Institute by Market Research Insight.
The Show-Me Institute itself is an advocacy organization that supported the defeated legislation, and Market Research Insight is a paid consultant of Governor Matt Blunt, for whom school vouchers are key re-election issue. The organizations are mentioned in the story, but there is little recognition of the fact that the survey results come from these biased organizations.
PubDef has acquired a copy of the survey results and of the email policy briefing sent to Missouri policy makers, written by . Upon comparison, the two documents demonstrate significant discrepancies, and it is evident thatPost-Dispatch reporter Steve Giegerich either did not have access to or did not examine the actual survey document himself.
For example, the "policy briefing" reported that "63 percent of respondents said they believe public education in Missouri is "in a crisis" or has "serious problems." The same number was reported by the Post-Dispatch. The actual question and statewide percentages by response are:
"Which of the following statements comes closer to representing your personal opinion about public schools in Missouri?"
A crisis: 26%
Not a crisis: 38%
Critics exaggerating: 15%
Doing very well: 12%
Uncertain: 9%
In other words, 26% of residents feel that public education is "in a crisis," while 65% do not. The numbers from the policy briefing just aren't from the copy of the survey results PubDef obtained.
Former Velda City police officer Lewis McGee and former detective Mark Winger both pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of a jailed man.
According to the plea agreements, on July 31, 2006, Winger and McGee, while acting in their capacities as law enforcement officers, conspired to physically assault the victim who was being detained at the Northwoods Police Department.
While McGee held the victim on the ground with his foot, Winger struck the victim multiple times causing him bodily injury. McGee and Winger then made false statements to a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to cover up their roles in the conspiracy and assault. Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
"Any act of police misconduct threatens to undermine public trust in the worthy goals of law enforcement," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
"The overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers serve with great distinction under often difficult circumstances. Those who abuse their authority by breaking the laws they are meant to enforce will be vigorously prosecuted by the Justice Department."
The guilty plea resulted from an investigation by the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rosen from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, and Trial Attorney Edward Chung from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted the case.
In fiscal year 2006, almost 50 percent of the cases filed by the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division involved excessive force or law enforcement misconduct. Since fiscal year 2001, the Division has filed 25 percent more such cases and convicted nearly 50 percent more defendants in these cases than in the preceding six years.
The St. Louis University Board of Trustees voted last night to grant school administrators the go-ahead to replace theexisting University News charter. This vote comes as a defeat for newspaper staff and editors who had hoped that the vote would be tabled until the board's next meeting in September.
According to News Editor-in-Chief Diana Benanti, the vote also had a caveat that "[newspaper staff] are to collaborate with the administration to make changes that are suitable for both sides." Administrators and students have 9 more days to discuss the situation before the charter becomes active on May 15.
When asked what actions she and her staff were planning to pursue following this resolution, Benanti said that they would "wait and see how [the administrators] respond to what we want, and from there we will decide either individually or as a group... what we want to pursue."
This year's Cinco de Mayo celebration downtown in Keiner Plaza was much wetter than last year. But that didn't stop people from having fun and dancing in the rain.
The following letter comes from the President of the St. Louis Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists:
Dear fellow journalists,
The Saint Louis University board of trustees will vote Saturday morning on whether to eliminate the existing charter for the University News, the student news at SLU. If approved, the university will then rewrite a new charter. After much public uproar, the administration now says it will solicit input from the newspaper staff, but it will only give them a week to provide opinions, according to Editor in Chief Diana L.Benanti. And the students still have no clear idea what the charter will actually look like once the administration acts. Basically, the university is giving these students an ultimatum. Thus the students continue to defend their editorial independence and remain opposed to changing the charter for this 86-year-old publication.
Though not allowed to present their ideas to the board of trustees, the students are still hoping the board might be convinced to take no action on the charter. To sway the board, the students will pass out flyers and demonstrate at SLU's DuBourg Hall, 221 N. Grand Avenue, starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday (May 5).
They're asking all other journalists worried about campus free speech to attend and participate.
Greg Cancelada President, St. Louis Chapter of SPJ
At today's Board of Alderman meeting, Board president Lewis Reed acknowledged a delegation of Russian political leaders currently paying a visit to the St. Louis area. The group, sponsored by the American Council of Young Political Leaders, is making a stop in town on its larger tour of the United States.
The ACYPL is an organization that provides US and international leaders between the ages of 25 and 40 the opportunity to travel abroad and experience other political systems.
License Collector Mike McMillan is acting as the group's host while they are in town. A veteran of the program himself, McMillan told PubDef that the program "gives you a very broad prospect of the types of challenges... of different governments throughout the world... and of the role of the US abroad."
Dave Chilenski, Deputy Chief of Staff for McMillan, noted that the Missouri stop has been of particular interest for the visitors. "Missouri was almost more interesting [than DC]" for the visitors since many of them "aren't from Moscow, so they're more interested in how the outlying regions function," said Chilenski.
The Russian visitors will spend one more night in St. Louis. The next stop on their tour of America is Salt Lake City, Utah.
